Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Beware of “too good to be true” offers for #1 page search engine results that often show up in your e-mail inbox. Most of these are scams and should be avoided. Search engine optimization is a process of research, experimentation and implementation. Honest, effective SEO is a combination of experience, knowledge and just plain luck.

To ensure effective search engine optimization, it all starts with a well planned and constructed website. Search engines look for good, relevant content, clean, efficient design and easy to navigate links. Other items of consideration are the age of your domain name, incoming links to your website, traffic and popularity. If you’ve had a website for years and it’s well established, you’re way ahead of the curve. If you’re starting a brand new website, with a new domain name, you will have to work a bit harder to become established. Contact us to help you develop a strategy for successful search engine marketing.

Here are a few myths and facts you should be aware of:

Keywords – Most search engines no longer consider keywords inserted into your page meta-tags as important, due to years of abuse. It doesn’t hurt to include keyword meta-tags but it probably won’t help. Contact us to find out which meta-tags are effective and how to use keywords in a “search engine friendly” manner.

Hits – Advertisers love to use the word “hits” when promoting how much traffic their website gets. For instance, one visit by a single person can generate 100’s of hits based on every page they view, images, etc. A much more accurate way to measure your website traffic is through “visits”. The number will be smaller but tells you how many people actually visit your website.

Reciprocal links – A few years ago, linking your website to someone elses was a great way to increase your website’s popularity. Back then, the number of reciprocal links you had determined your page ranking. The rules have changed. Now, the quality of the websites you link with take precedence over quantity. Also, beware who you are linked to. Beware. If you are linked to the wrong website it can affect your own website in a adverse way.

Domain names and site longevity – It helps to have your most important keywords as part of your domain name. This gives you a little extra leverage with the search engines. The period of time your website has been around is also important. If you start a brand new website about a popular subject you will have an uphill climb to compete with already established sites that have been around for years.

Pay-per-click campaigns – In the early days, pay-per-click campaigns were very effective as a “lazy man’s way to promote a website”. Now that everyone has jumped on that bandwagon, bids for clicks on popular keywords can be much higher and it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. A pay-per-click campaign should be part of an overall web promotional effort in order to be effective. Like a mutual fund, web marketing and promotion should be diverse. Cover as many bases as you can. Contact us to find out how and where to begin.

We post many helpful hints, tips and articles on our Facebook and Twitter pages to help you manage your own SEO campaigns.